Matsui tries new tactic to get levee funding

Within weeks, the bulldozers and trucks that have been working to strengthen the levees that surround Sacramento's Natomas neighborhood will be gone.

Funding for the $1 billion project has run out, even though less than half the work has been completed.

The state and local property owners have paid for all of the improvements done so far, about $400 million worth.

However, the federal government has so far refused to pay for the remaining share.

Rep. Doris Matsui, D-Sacramento, has twice introduced legislation that wound authorize the federal funding, only to see it rejected each time by Republican leaders in the House of Representatives.

"I have said to the people in Washington, 'Listen, my constituents have invested in this themselves. They've assessed themselves twice. The state has stepped up. We need to step up now,'" said Matsui in an interview with KCRA 3.

Republicans, who hold the majority in the House, have promised to end the practice of earmarks -- pet projects that are designed mainly to benefit one lawmaker's district.

Rep. Tom McClintock, R-Granite Bay, has been one of the strongest opponents of earmarks and believes flood protection should not be a federal responsibility.

"Public works of that nature ought to be paid for by those who benefit from those public works and not by general taxpayers," McClintock told KCRA 3.

"There are still, I say, 50 or 60 tea party members in the House that are adamantly against everything," said Matsui.

Recently, Matsui and Democratic Senator Barbara Boxer have been trying a new strategy to get the federal flood funding approved.

Matsui and Boxer have begun drafting legislation that would fund flood control projects that have received a recommendation from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers through a document known as a Chief's Report.

The draft legislation mentions no specific projects or locations, but Matsui's office said only Sacramento and three other communities would meet the requirements.

The other communities are Cedar Rapids, Iowa; Moorehead, N.D.; and Topeka, Kan.

Matsui said the House parliamentarian ruled a previous version of her legislation was not an earmark but said she has received no assurance that House leaders will accept that view.

Furthermore, President Barack Obama has also repeatedly opposed earmarks.

Matsui told KCRA 3 she has not specifically discussed the Natomas situation withe Obama, but added, "I'm very confident that the president understands the importance of infrastructure."

Obama said as much in an interview last month with KCRA 3.

"Using water issues in California as one example of how we need to build our infrastructure is important. So maybe I can find a good tour to take there," said Obama.

Since then, the White House has announced no presidential tour of California's flood protection and water delivery systems.

According to the Sacramento Area Flood Control Agency, work has been completed about 18 miles of the 42 miles of levees that surround the Natomas basin, mainly along the eastern bank of the Sacramento River.

The remaining work will focus on the lower stretch of the American River and along various drainage canals.

The Natomas basin is home to more than 100,000 people, Sacramento International Airport and the intersection of Interstate 80 and Interstate 5.

Following the failure of the levees protecting New Orleans during Hurricane Katrina in 2005, the Federal Emergency Management Agency increased its scrutiny of levees across the country.

In 2008, FEMA de-certified the levees that surround Natomas, resulting in a de facto building ban.

The Army Corps of Engineers has estimated that it will require $1.2 billion to reduce the risk of a catastrophic levee break and flood in Natomas.

SAFCA has more recently revised that estimate to $800-900 million.

The de-certification of the levees would normally have triggered a steep increase in the cost of flood insurance for Natomas property owners.

However, special legislation has allowed those property to continue to receive a discounted rate for the past two years.

"As a result, flood insurance rates were roughly $350 a year rather than $1,200 a year," wrote Matsui's press secretary, Jonelle Trimmer, in an email to KCRA 3.

However, that legislation expired on Jan. 1.

Trimmer said flood insurance rates are set to rise 20 percent a year for each of the next five years.

However, she said it was unclear when the first of those hikes would take effect.

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